Latest News - Page 1376

Massive Entertainment built a beautiful graphics engine with its Snowdrop engine, really shown off beautifully in The Division 2 -- but now Snowdrop goes next-gen with the just-introduced Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora. Check it out:

Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is Ubisoft's first next-gen only game, with the "tech showcase" video above detailing the tech side of the game -- with no official gameplay shown so far. Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora developer, which also made The Division 2 -- has shown off the technical prowess inside of the new Snowdrop engine.

Massive had to overhaul the Snowdrop engine for what was required in Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, where the team introduced some very Unreal Engine 5 sounding technical tricks into the game. The new hardware inside of the next-gen consoles as well as the hardware available on PC, is now capable of doing what Massive wanted it to do, in order to deliver us Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora.

MSI has just launched its new CMP 50HX MINER which is the most interesting crypto mining GPU released so far, as it has the same TU104 GPU as the GeForce RTX 2080 Ti -- but with some tweaks.

The new MSI CMP 50HX MINER has the same Turing TU102 GPU as the GeForce RTX 2080 Ti, but with less CUDA cores: 3584 CUDA cores on the CMP 50HX MINER, versus the 4352 CUDA cores on the GeForce RTX 2080 Ti. Another change is that the MSI CMP 50HX MINER has 10GB of GDDR6, versus the 11GB of GDDR6 on the RTX 2080 Ti.

NVIDIA's tweaked Turing TU102 GPU for the MSI CMP 50HX MINER with its 1024 less CUDA cores and 1GB less GDDR6 has lowered power consumption down to 225W -- down from 250W on the GeForce RTX 2080 Ti. MSI requires dual 8-pin PCIe power connectors for its CMP 50HX MINER.

If you want to stress test and benchmark your new CPU inside of 3DMark, you can now finally do just that with UL Benchmarks' latest update to 3DMark.

The new 3DMark CPU Profile will test your CPU performance, either in single or multi-threaded benchmarks where it will provide a score at the end and show you how your CPU performance will scale with the amount of cores and threads being used.

There's a full benchmark run included, but if you want to test individual CPU cores and threads then the other benchmark modes are there for you: the 16 threads test, 8 threads test, 4 threads and 2 threads test, and finally the single threads test. Each of these will test CPU performance to measure how good your CPU is for older games, normal performance, new games, and the computational intensive tasks (content creation, 3D editing, high-end gaming, etc).

John McAfee reportedly took his own life in his prison cell in Spain, very similar to how Jeffrey Epstein took his own life in his prison cell in New York.

If you aren't a "conspiracy theorist" or don't read these topics in the media, they've probably gone over your head -- if they have, then I would suggest diving into this if you are of a curious mind. Those that are, might have noticed that McAfee has been talking about Epstein for years since his "suicide" and now McAfee's "suicide".

If we follow the white rabbit, there's a tweet from McAfee from December 1, 2019 at the top of the post -- where he said: "Getting subtle messages from U.S. officials saying, in effect: "We're coming for you McAfee! We're going to kill yourself". I got a tattoo today just in case. If I suicide myself, I didn't. I was whackd. Check my right arm".

It looks like PC gamers are in for a treat with Windows 11, with Microsoft aiming for its latest operating system to be the "the best Windows ever for gaming".

During the Windows 11 reveal, Xbox corporate vice president for game creator experience and ecosystem, Sarah Bond, said that Windows 11 is "the best Windows ever for gaming". Microsoft is building the Xbox Game Pass "right into Windows 11" which is going to be a huge contributor to Windows 11 and its "best Windows ever for gaming" marketing.

Xbox Games Pass being built directly into Windows 10 doesn't just give you everything on Xbox ala carte, but rather it will let gamers "play the highest-fidelity fames on all PCs". If you sign up for the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, then you'll get access to cloud streaming.

Microsoft is still months away from the official release of Windows 11, but between now and then we can expect a flurry of betas to hit Windows Insiders -- giving us a nice hype ramp over the coming months to the full release of Windows 11.

Windows 11 beta builds will begin going out to Windows Insiders starting June 28, 2021 -- just days from now. The early build of Windows 11 going out to Windows Insiders isn't the full Windows 11 though, as it'll be missing features -- which features we don't know just yet -- and not providing the full Windows 11 experience.

You can join the Windows Insider program, if you've got Windows 10 installed -- and if you've got the right hardware. You can sign up to the Windows Insider program on the official website, or if you type "Windows Insider" into the Search bar on Windows 10 you can do it all from there.

Windows 11 was revealed and detailed today, with one of the biggest surprises is that Microsoft's next-generation operating system will run Android apps.

During the Windows 11 reveal, Microsoft and Intel announced that Intel Core-powered Windows PCs would be capable of running Android apps, as well as multi-monitor support through Intel Thunderbolt 4 technology. Intel Core-based PCs with Thunderbolt 4 will have out-of-the-box support for multi-monitors and Windows 11's new Windows Snap technology.

But what about AMD? Will the AMD Ryzen CPUs be capable of running Android apps on Windows 11? That remains to be seen, as Microsoft and Intel weren't clear on that during the announcement. Intel Core CPU + Windows 11 = runs Android apps... but Intel did say Intel Bridge technology was designed to work on "all x86 platforms".

Microsoft has just unveiled and detailed its next-gen Windows 11 operating system, and sure -- we've got a fresh new UI, a totally new Start menu, and so much more -- but did you know that Windows 11 will run your Android apps, too?

That's right -- Windows 11 will let you run your Android apps, but get this... it'll be done through the Amazon Appstore because that totally makes sense. All of your favorite Android apps will be downloaded through the Amazon Appstore, from the redesigned Microsoft Store inside of Windows 11.

This will be a big blow to Apple which has been shifting more and more onto the desktop with its fresh new iMac that uses Apple's new in-house M1 chip, with future iMacs to use the next-gen M2 processor. Apple's big shift away from Intel has been happening for years, and now Microsoft is embracing Android apps with Windows 11.

John McAfee reportedly committed suicide while in jail on June 23, moments later his Instagram account had a new post with a simple image and a single letter: Q.

But then not long after the post about Q hit his Instagram account, McAfee's Instagram account was deleted. Facebook-owned Instagram, who definitely isn't biased and has nothing to hide, has not responded to requests from Business Insider for comment (and we're totally not surprised).

Instagram did tell Business Insider that it was "looking into" the post, as we don't know who is operating McAfee's Instagram account. It could be anyone, hell it's probably President Trump or James Woods, whoever it is has definitely started pushing back.

Microsoft has just officially unveiled its next-gen Windows 11 operating system, simplifying the entire design and user experience, providing some new tools and technologies -- to a totally new Start button, sounds, fonts, icons, and a million-and-one things in-between.

Windows 11 will be a free upgrade for Windows 10 users, with minimum PC requirements not so bad... with Microsoft requiring a 64-bit CPU, 4GB of RAM, and 64GB of storage for Windows 11. Underneath the hood, Windows 11 has a revamped UI, a totally fresh Start menu, multi-tasking improvements, and performance boosts across the board.

Microsoft has been working on Windows 11 through the pandemic, which changes millions of lives -- and the way that millions of people used their technology. Windows 11 has been fine-tuned for the desktop PC, laptops, touchscreen devices, and more -- a beautifully refreshed UI (user interface), a new Start menu, and more.

Windows 10 users can upgrade to Windows 11 for free, but only if your system passes a test.

Microsoft has released a new system checkup tool to determine if your PC is ready for the free Windows 11 upgrade. The test isn't straightforward and many users are perplexed when their newer PCs don't pass the test. The common culprit seems to be a TPM, a chip designed to secure your PC.

Windows 11 requires Trusted Platform Module (TPM) version 2.0 in order to run. TPMs are usually integrated right into your motherboard, but AMD has a firmware-based TPM in Ryzen CPUs that can be enabled. To see what version TPM your system has, simply:

Hideo Kojima is reportedly in negotiations to make a new game for Xbox, and it might help kick off Microsoft's new cloud games.

It looks like Kojima's experimental new horror game-film hybrid has found a home at Microsoft. Stadia design director Kim Swift recently joined Microsoft to help lead new cloud gaming initiatives, namely courting studios to work on titles specifically for Project xCloud. Sources tell Games Beat that Kojima is one of the various devs being courted for xCloud's new push and that Kojima had previously pitched a game to Stadia.

Kojima has expressed interest in cloud streaming for a while now and has a few ideas for his new project. After P.T., Kojima says he wants to make a new interactive horror game using the cloud as the delivery system. His comments suggest the project will be a game/film hybrid similar to something like Bandersnatch with more interactivity, possibly with AI-based randomization or procedurally-generated scenarios.

Windows 11 will feature Auto HDR settings built natively into the operating system, Microsoft confirms.

Microsoft is going all-in on PC gaming with Windows 11. The new OS will come with a built-in Xbox app complete with Game Pass and Project xCloud streaming, and other features like Auto HDR that will help breathe new life into old and new games.

"Games will look better than ever thanks to Auto HDR, a unique capability we're offering with Windows 11 which automatically adds High Dynamic Range (HDR) enhancements to games built on DirectX 11 or higher that previously only leveraged Standard Dynamic Range (SDR)," Microsoft said in a blog post.

DirectX 12's new DirectStorage feature will be exclusive to Windows 11 and won't be available to Windows 10 users, Microsoft confirms.

Today's big Windows 11 info blowout confirms a major tech breakthrough is exclusive to the new OS. "With DirectStorage, which will only be available with Windows 11, games can quickly load assets to the graphics card without bogging down the CPU," Microsoft said.

"This means you'll get to experience incredibly detailed game worlds rendered at lightning speeds, without long load times. "DirectStorage Optimized" Windows 11 PCs are configured with the hardware and drivers needed to enable this amazing experience."

id Software, like every other game developer on the planet, is already planning their next game. What could it be?

In a recent Dropped Frames stream on Twitch, Xbox's Phil Spencer gives insight on how Microsoft runs its 23 game development teams. Xbox has a distinctly unique approach that ranges from hands-off all the way to direct cross-studio collaborations, financing and hiring sprees. Spencer is always meeting with first-party studios to discuss future plans, and he recent met with id to talk about what's next for the hellrazers.

"Marty Stratton and I were on a call yesterday and we were talking about id and the roadmap there, which was fun. I can't wait to get on the ground with the studios and talk to them about what they want to do,"Spencer said in the stream.

The Hubble Space Telescope has been in operation for more than 30 years, and it still continues to shock onlookers of what it can produce. But, what will Hubble's successor be able to do?

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has been dubbed as Hubble's successor, and its launch has been highly anticipated for quite some time. Unfortunately, many delays occurred due to construction setbacks as well as COVID-19. However, when JWST is finally launched, it will give astronomers the opportunity to view the universe in its baby stages, just less than 800 million years old.

The JWST will literally be able to look back in time, and astronomers are planning on its extremely sensitive low-light instruments to peer at distant quasars. A good way to understand this is the light that Webb is absorbing has taken billions of years to reach it, allowing for astronomers to see things how they were billions of years ago and not how they are today. Astronomers' ability to see back to the early stages of the universe paves the way for a deeper understanding of how galaxies evolve, supermassive black hole formations, and evolution in general.

If you happened to miss the Blood Supermoon that recently occurred, now if you chance to catch the last supermoon of 2021, the Strawberry Moon.

According to Farmer's Almanac, the Strawberry Moon will be visible this coming Thursday, June 24, until June 26. What is a super moon? The definition of super moon is given to the moon when its orbit brings it closest to Earth. Due to the orbit of the moon, this only happens a few times a year, and as explained by Almanac, a full moon that is less than 224,000 miles away from Earth is considered a super moon.

The coming Strawberry Moon will be located just outside the cut-off line, being 224,662 miles away from Earth. However, due to this month's supermoon only being a few thousand miles further back than April and May's supermoons, onlookers at the cosmic spectacle shouldn't see any noticeable difference. Additionally, the name "Strawberry Moon" wasn't derived from the hue that it can produce, but instead, it comes from Algonquin, Ojibwe, Dakota, and Lakota Native American tribes as it marks the ripening of June strawberries.

Varjo today revealed Varjo Reality Cloud, an ambitious attempt at creating the foundation of the future metaverse. The company is leveraging the Lidar capabilities of its XR3 headset to enable real-time photorealistic virtual teleportation. This is Varjo's vision for the future of collaboration.

With Varjo Reality Cloud, not only can you collaborate virtually with people around the world, you can bring others into your space, making it feel like you're sharing the same physical environment. With the Lidar scanners embedded on the Varjo XR-3 headset, users can capture a true-to-life 3D scan of their location, complete with full-color photorealistic texturing and share that with other people with Varjo headsets. Eventually, you'll be able to tap into the Varjo Reality Cloud with any device, including other VR headsets, computers, smartphones, and tablets.

Humans have only just begun our search for alien life out in the cosmos, but have we considered that alien life is already spying on us, and we don't even know it?

A recent study published by a team of astronomers explores this question as they have identified 1,715 stars within 300 light-years of Earth that could view Earth if they had the technology. These nearly 2,000 stars could have been watching Earth for the last 5,000 years. A form of planetary detection is the transit method, and it involves an astronomer viewing and recording the reduction of light from a host star. When an astronomer notices a reduction in the star's brightness, they know an exoplanet is passing by.

While this method of planetary detection is effective and efficient, astronomers can only view exoplanets on Earth's orbital plane, or more simply, within our line of sight. This means that astronomers aren't able to see the exoplanets that aren't "edge-on" to us. Additionally, aliens that are using this same method could also be viewing us and performing the same mathematical estimations of our planet.

There is a very large object that is moving outside of our solar system, but it will soon enter Saturn's orbit, according to astronomers.

The very large object is a comet named 2014 UN271, and back in 2013, it was first officially discovered by the Dark Energy Survey, which is a collaborative project that has a goal of mapping galaxies and unlocking more knowledge into dark energy. The discovery by DES was just announced on June 13, and now astronomers are speculating that the rock could be as big as a small dwarf planet with an estimated diameter of anywhere around 80 to 229 miles.

Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, questioned the assumption that 2014 UN271 is as big as a dwarf planet, saying, "Seems like maybe a tad too small to qualify as dwarf planet? Very cool nevertheless." Foxnews reports that the comet will enter our solar system within the next decade, coming close to Saturn's orbit. For more information on this story, check out this link here.